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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Do you have any demographic or
psychographic information on people who practice martial arts or
enroll their children in martial arts classes?
Brian DeGori
Okinawa Kenpo Karate Academy, Inc.
Pitman, N.J.

Dear Brian:

Unlike chopping boards and cinder blocks with your bare hands,
breaking down the demographics of those who participate in martial
arts is quite a simple â€" and painless â€" task. According
to data from New York City-based research firm Simmons Market
Research, an estimated 18.1 million Americans participated in
karate or some other form of martial art at least once in the past
year. Included in that estimate are 9.4 million adults, 5.5 million
teenagers and 3.2 million kids.

ADULTS

An estimated 5 percent of adults say they participated in
martial arts last year at least once, and a quarter of those (28
percent) say they do martial arts â€œevery chance they
get.â€? Surprisingly, this bunch is fairly evenly split between
men (52 percent) and women (48 percent). But for the most part,
participants are young. Sixty-three percent are between 18 and 34,
compared with 25 percent who are between 35 and 49 and 11 percent
who are 50 or older.

Interestingly, Asian American adults are no more likely to
participate in martial arts than are whites; around 5 percent of
each group is involved in the sport. Blacks, on the other hand, are
more likely than whites or Asians to engage in martial arts, with 7
percent saying they have participated in the sport at least once in
the past year.

TEENS

Karate, kickboxing and related sports are significantly more
popular among teens than their parents. According to Simmons, a
quarter of all teenage boys â€" and almost as many (22 percent)
teen girls â€" say they have participated in martial arts in
the past year.

When these teens are not practicing their karate chops, however,
chances are they aren't sitting still. Fully 75 percent of teens
who practice karate say that they have also played golf in the past
year, 74 percent have skateboarded, 69 percent have practiced yoga,
and 41 percent have gone downhill or cross-country skiing.

In fact, teens who spar are even more likely to see their
activities as beneficial to their overall health and social life
than do their equally active peers. Two-thirds (67 percent) of
teens who practice martial arts say, â€œSports are a part of my
social life,â€? and 77 percent say, â€œSports are important
to keep healthy.â€? For those teens who participate in a sport
other than karate, the figures are 59 percent and 71 percent,
respectively.

KIDS

Kids are less interested in karate than their big brothers and
sisters, but more interested than their moms and dads; an estimated
13 percent of children ages 6 to 11 have participated in some kind
of martial arts activity in the past year, according to Simmons.
When it comes to the peewee division, however, boys are
significantly more interested than girls: Of aspiring Jackie Chans,
61 percent are boys, and only 39 percent are girls.

Alas, karate lessons don't come cheap, and the likelihood that a
child will partake in martial arts increases proportionately with
the income of his or her parents. Fifteen percent of kids whose
parents earn $75,000 or more a year participate in martial arts,
compared with 13 percent of those whose parents make between
$50,000 and $75,000. Only 10 percent of kids whose parents earn
$50,000 or less participate in the sport.

Whether or not they come from money, karate kids seem to be more
outgoing and adventurous than their non-belt-wearing peers. For
instance, 21 percent of youngsters who practice martial arts agree
with the statement â€œI like to be the first to try new
things,â€? compared with just 16 percent of kids who don't
participate in martial arts. And that out-in-front attitude may one
day put them in the limelight: 58 percent of children who
participate in martial arts say they want to be famous, compared
with 52 percent of kids who do not.

INSIDE THE MIND OF A MARTIAL ARTIST

Adults who participate in martial arts are more likely than
nonparticipants to say that they enjoy taking risks.

PERCENT OF ADULT RESPONDENTS WHO AGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING
STATEMENTS, BY MARTIAL ARTS PARTICIPATION:

PARTICIPATE

DON'T PARTICIPATE

I try to be as nice to people as I can

70%

76%

I do some sort of exercise or sport once a week

66%

48%

I enjoy taking risks

49%

33%

I am happy with my standard of living

43%

48%

I am a perfectionist

41%

37%

It's important for me to keep looking young

39%

33%

Marijuana should be legalized

29%

21%

Friends ask my advice about health and nutrition

25%

17%

There is little I can do to change my life

13%

18%

Source: Simmons Market Research

CLASS ROSTER

Using a market segmentation tool called Cohorts, Simmons Market
Research analyzed data from its Spring 2002 National Consumer
Survey to identify the adults most likely to practice martial arts,
by lifestyle segment.

MEDIAN AGE

MEDIAN INCOME

MARTIAL ARTS INDEX*

â€œELIZABETHâ€?
Affluent working woman with sophisticated tastes, very active
lifestyle and good investing habits

41

$166,425

234

â€œRYANâ€?
Younger, physically active man with strong career drive and upscale
interests, including electronics and technology